Experiences of Justice-Involved People Transitioning to HIV Care in the Community After Prison Release in Lusaka, Zambia: A Qualitative Study

Figures & Tables

TABLE.

Demographic, Viral Load, and Alcohol Risk-Level Characteristics Among Justice-Involved People Living With HIV in Zambia

Characteristics	No. (%) (N=50)
Sex and age
Male	40 (80)
Female	10 (20)
Age, median (range), years	34.1 (20–54)
Highest education level completed
No education	1 (2)
Primary school	27 (54)
Secondary school	21 (42)
Higher than secondary school	1 (2)
Enrollment site
Lusaka Central Correctional Facility	33 (66)
Kabwe Correctional Complex	14 (28)
Mwembeshi Correctional Facility	3 (6)
History of prior incarceration	7 (14)
Reason for release
Sentence completed	46 (92)
Paroled	3 (6)
Released from court (i.e., remandee)	1 (2)
Viral load status change (from pre- to post-release)^a
Unchanged “undetectable” or “suppressed” (favorable) status	19 (38)
Unchanged “uncontrolled” (unfavorable) status	7 (14)
Viral load status improved	6 (12)
Viral load status deteriorated	11 (22)
Viral load status unknown (i.e., LTFU)	7 (14)
Post-release alcohol use (for participants who completed a post-release survey, n=27)
Risk level for alcohol use disorder^b
Low risk	21 (78)
Hazardous or harmful alcohol use	6 (22)
Moderate-to-severe alcohol use	1 (4)

Abbreviations: AUD, alcohol use disorder; AUDIT, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; LTFU, lost to follow-up; WHO, World Health Organization.
↵^a HIV viral load status categories include: undetectable (<20 copies/ml); suppressed (20–999 copies/ml); uncontrolled (≥1,000 copies/ml).
↵^b Risk level for AUD determined from the WHO AUDIT tool with the following scores (on scale from 0 to 40) for each category: low risk (1–7); hazardous or harmful (8–14); moderate-to-severe (≥15).